If you're buying a used Toyota Yaris, the 2019-2020 Yaris sedan and 2020 hatchback (and the 2016-2018 Scion iA and Yaris iA they grew out of) are the ones to want: they're Mazda2-based, the 2019-2020 cars earned a Good IIHS small overlap rating in a test run on a 2016 Scion iA, and they drive better than the older Toyota-built cars. A 2007-2018 Yaris is still a cheap, simple car, but older ones may carry Takata airbag recalls that have to be closed before you buy.
The Yaris name covers what are really two different families, which is why so many listings confuse people. I sorted it out on Friday morning, October 16, 2026, using IIHS's model notes, the old Consumer Reports and Car and Driver reviews, and NHTSA recall rows for every year from 2007 to 2020. Toyota sold the Yaris here from the 2007 model year until 2020, and Toyota's own discontinued-vehicle page confirms 2020 was the last year for both body styles.
Toyota-built Yaris vs the Mazda-built ones
The Toyota-built cars are the 2007-2011 sedan and hatch and the 2012-2018 hatchback. Consumer Reports describes the 2012-on car as spartan and humdrum, with slow acceleration partly blamed on an old four-speed automatic, numb steering, and a seat position with no telescoping wheel. Fuel economy was the bright spot at 32 mpg overall in its testing, and 2017 models picked up standard low-speed automatic emergency braking and lane departure warning.
The Mazda-built line started as the 2016 Scion iA sedan. Toyota's newsroom said 2017 Scion models would be rebadged as Toyotas, and the iA became the Yaris iA. CR's Yaris iA page says it was built by Mazda on the Mazda2 (never sold here), with a 106-hp 1.5-liter, a six-speed manual or automatic, and 35 mpg in CR's testing. IIHS notes the "iA" was dropped from the name for 2019, and a hatchback version was added for 2020.
Driving it, and the honest downsides
Car and Driver's 2020 review liked the handling and mileage: 32/40 mpg city/highway with the automatic, 30/39 with the manual. It also timed an XLE sedan at 9.6 seconds to 60 mph, called out missing driver-assist features such as blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise, and complained about small cargo space. Warranty back then was 3 years/36,000 miles basic and 5 years/60,000 powertrain, so nearly every 2020 has aged out on time; confirm the in-service date anyway.
One thing I'd watch for: fleet history. The Drive called the Yaris "the option to get at the rental counter," and plenty of used ones came out of fleets. A rental past is not automatically bad, but read the history; our guide to the rental-use flag on CARFAX shows how it looks. Also, the GR Yaris you see in videos is a different car; The Drive notes Europe and Japan get an all-Toyota Yaris we never got.
Safety ratings by generation
This is where the split matters most. IIHS gives the 2019-2020 Yaris a Good in the driver-side small overlap test, based on a 2016 Scion iA, and rates its standard front crash prevention Advanced. Its headlights were rated Poor, so a night drive is worth doing. The 2012-2018 Toyota-built hatchback got only a Marginal in the same small overlap test.
Recalls worth checking by year
From the NHTSA recalls API for the 2010 Yaris and the other years, pulled this morning:
- 2006-2011 Yaris (16V340) and 2010-2012 Yaris (18V025): Takata passenger airbag inflators that can rupture in a crash. Coverage depends on which states the car was sold or registered in, so a car that moved can still be on the list. See our Takata recall check.
- 2006-2010 (14V168, 14V169): a driver airbag spiral cable that can be damaged by steering, and seat rail springs that can break.
- 2015-2017 (19V319): cracked or corroded side airbag sensor wiring in the front doors.
- 2015 (15V098, 16V367): rear axle bearing bolts and front strut mount bearings on limited build ranges.
- 2019-2020 Yaris, sedan and hatch (21V617): a low-pressure fuel pump impeller can crack and the pump can fail; dealers replace the pump.
Queries under "Scion iA" and "Yaris iA" returned nothing for me, while a 2017-2019 label campaign naming the Yaris iA (19V503) showed up under plain "Yaris." That's one more reason to go by VIN with our Toyota recall check by VIN steps and confirm the body and engine through the Toyota VIN decoder guide.
Alternatives and the history report
Need more room? The used Honda Fit guide covers the hatch with the big cargo area, and the used Corolla guide is the obvious step up. We resell official CARFAX and AutoCheck reports under license and are not affiliated with CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian. Our price has been near $5.50 per report as a guest or $4.50 as a member, about $6.75 for both together, while retail tends to run $39.99 to $44.99; check checkout for today's number. Don't accept a dealer printout dated months ago; a car can get a brand or a new accident since then.
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